Florida Sets New Visitor Record; World’s Best Airports; Airlines Flying to Puerto Vallarta Again

Florida tourism set a new record last year, welcoming 143.3 million visitors, according to data released by Visit Florida. That represents an increase of 0.2% over 2024 and represents the highest yearly total in state history.

Domestic tourism represented nearly 92% of all visitors. Overseas visits were up 4%, with almost 9.3 million visits. But visits from Canada were down a substantial 14.7%, reaching roughly 2.9 million for the year.

Visit Florida, which markets the Sunshine State to the world, says it’s engaging in talks with Canadian travel groups in an effort to change that. But it may not be an easy fix.

With US President Donald Trump still making jokes about Canada being the 51^st state, and with continued talk of tariffs on goods being sent to the States, many Canadians are avoiding trips to the US these days.

In December of last year, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States was down 25.0% year over year, according to Statistics Canada. By contrast, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from overseas were up 12.9%, which shows Canadians are eager to explore the world, but not so keen on the US right now.

The reverse is also partly true. Stats Can said the number of trips to Canada by US residents in December was down 7.5% from the previous year. But the number of visits by overseas residents jumped 14.1% compared to December of 2024.

A recent Politico poll found that 58% of Canadians “strongly disagree” or “disagree” with the idea that “the US is a reliable ally.”  Twenty-two percent said they “agree” or “strongly agree” with the same idea.

That’s a truly remarkable poll result that shows just how bad the relationship has become between the US and Canada.

Best World and North American Airports

Airports Council International has come out with its list of best airports and airport experiences for 2025. Top mentions in their annual ASQ Customer Experience Awards went to Victoria, St. John’s, Toronto Pearson, La Guardia, Orlando and other airports.

Airports in Victoria, B.C. and St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador were named the best departure airports with less than two million passengers a year.

In the 40 million passengers or more category, the three airports with top honours were Toronto Pearson, Orlando and Dallas Fort Worth. Salt Lake City and New York La Guardia were given awards in the category of airports with 25 to 40 million passengers a year, while Austin, Texas and Tampa were given awards in the 15 to 25 million passengers per year category.

In the 5 million to 15 million passengers per year group, North American honorees were New Orleans, Indianapolis and Ontario, California.

In the category of most enjoyable airport, the three North American winners were Orlando, Salt Lake City and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The best airports globally for arriving passengers were Lucknow (India), Mabalacat (Philippines), Bengaluru (India), Bahrain, Hyderabad (India) and Mangaluru (India).

Airlines Resume Flights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Good to see Canadian airlines, and others, resuming flights to Puerto Vallarta after Sunday’s violence, which was sparked by the killing of Mexico’s leading drug cartel kingpin.

Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Porter said they would begin flying to and from the city again today (Feb. 24).

Ontario Premier Doug Ford sparked a bit of a controversy on Monday (Feb. 23)  when he said Canadians should avoid Mexico entirely because of the violence.

I posted a story at OpenJaw.com today with quotes from industry executives saying Ford is out of line, and that his comments cause immense damage to the travel industry.

One executive suggested Ford “buy a map,” a not too subtle comment that reflects the sheer size of Mexico. Yes, there was some violence in Puerto Vallarta. But Cancun, where many foreign visitors go on vacation, is 2,500 km’s away.

Suggesting Canadians avoid trips to Cancun because of problems in Puerto Vallarta is like saying people should skip visits to Toronto because of issues in Regina, Saskatchewan, or that visitors should avoid Los Angeles due to problems in Omaha, Nebraska or Dallas.

Sagrada Familia Progress in Barcelona

Nice to read that Barcelona’s magnificent Sagrada Familia has reached a milestone.

The towering Basilica, which was started by renowned architect Antonio Gaudi in 1882, reached its maximum height the other day when the upper arm of a cross was placed atop the Tower of Jesus Christ, some 566 feet above the city.

I got to have a look around the Sagrada Familia two years ago next month on a fabulous Mediterranean cruise with MSC Cruises.

Chicago Hotel Record

Choose Chicago statistics released the other day show a solid 2.3% rise in hotel room demand for the city last year. Nationally, hotel room demand declined 0.5%, so Chicago definitely bucked the trend.

It’s a terrific city that’s often voted best in the USA, and one of the best in the world. The food is fabulous, the museums exquisite, the waterfront almost entirely undeveloped, and the people warm and welcoming.